Pastor Tricia's Ramblings

---

We talk a lot about what it costs us to follow Jesus. The surrender. The dying to self. The laying down of comfort, control, and pride. But before we can ever truly count the cost of following Him, we have to stop and look at what it cost Him to make a way for us in the first place.

Following Jesus didn’t start with our sacrifice—it started with His.

He came knowing the full weight of the plan. Knowing He would be rejected, betrayed, beaten, and crucified. Knowing that the very ones He came to save would stand by and yell, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (Luke 23:21).

And yet—He came anyway.

Because love compelled Him.

Because redemption demanded it.

Because the Father’s heart willed it.

The Suffering Servant: He Bore Our Sin

The prophet Isaiah saw it centuries before it happened. He described Jesus, not as a conquering king riding in with fanfare and armies, but as a suffering servant—wounded, crushed, despised, rejected, and acquainted with grief.

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

— Isaiah 53:4–5 (NIV)

Don’t rush past those words—pierced, crushed, punished, wounded.

Every one of those words carries weight. It was the weight of our rebellion, our shame, our selfishness, our hidden sin, our public pride. Every wrong we have ever done was laid upon Him.

Isaiah goes on to say, “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (v. 6)

He didn’t deserve the cross. We did. Yet, in perfect obedience and unstoppable love, He took it for us.

He didn’t resist. He didn’t fight back. He didn’t defend Himself.

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter.” (Isaiah 53:7)

Think about that. The Creator of the universe—the One who spoke the stars into existence—stood silent as His creation mocked Him. He could have called down twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53). He could have ended it all in a moment.

But He didn’t.

He stayed.

Because love held Him there. Not nails—love.

The Heart Behind the Sacrifice

When Jesus went to the cross, it wasn’t just an act of obedience; it was an overflow of His heart.

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

— 1 John 4:9–10

This is the heartbeat of the gospel. Love took on flesh. Love carried a cross. Love died in our place.

When Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” (John 19:30) He wasn’t admitting defeat—He was declaring victory. The debt was paid. The wrath of God was satisfied. The chasm between God and humanity was bridged by blood.

We can’t look at the cross and come away unchanged. We can’t see the suffering Savior and stay comfortable in casual faith.

He loved us enough to die for us. The least we can do is live for Him.

What It Cost Him, and What It Gives Us

Let’s be clear—it cost Him everything.

He left heaven’s glory. He stepped into human flesh, into weakness, hunger, pain, and sorrow. He faced temptation. He was misunderstood, betrayed, beaten, mocked, and nailed to a cross.

And He did it knowing what it would take.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

— 2 Corinthians 5:14–15

That’s what His sacrifice calls us to—a new kind of life. A crucified life. A resurrected life.

It cost Him His life so that you and I could have ours restored.

It cost Him the Father’s wrath so we could know the Father’s love.

It cost Him rejection so we could be accepted.

It cost Him humiliation so we could stand forgiven.

The Unbreakable Love of God

If you’ve ever doubted God’s love for you, look at the cross. Look at the empty tomb. Look at what Romans 8 declares over every believer:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

— Romans 8:31–32

God didn’t hold back His Son. He didn’t hold back His mercy. He poured it out fully, freely, and finally.

And now, because of that sacrifice, we can stand boldly and say:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

— Romans 8:35, 37

Nothing can separate you from His love—not your past, not your failures, not your doubts, not even death itself.

The cross proves it.

The Price of a Rescue

Imagine a firefighter running into a burning building to save someone trapped inside. The heat is unbearable, the smoke blinding. He knows the risks, but he goes anyway. When he finally comes out carrying the person in his arms, his own uniform is burned, his body is scarred—but the one he rescued lives.

Now multiply that sacrifice beyond human measure—that’s what Jesus did for us.

He didn’t just risk His life. He gave it.

He didn’t just save us from flames. He saved us from eternal separation from God.

The Exchange: His Life for Ours

The gospel is the great exchange.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

He took our sin, our guilt, our punishment—and in return, He gave us righteousness, forgiveness, and peace.

That’s not a fair trade. That’s grace.

He became what we were so that we could become what He is—beloved children of God, joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

This isn’t just about a future in heaven. This is about a transformed life now.

When you belong to Jesus, you are not just surviving—you are thriving as a child of God, walking in freedom, filled with the Spirit, anchored in unshakeable love.

Have You Counted the Cost?

Jesus never hid the cost of discipleship. He said plainly:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

— Luke 9:23

It’s not an easy call. It means dying to our old ways, our pride, our comfort. It means saying “no” to self so we can say “yes” to Him.

But look at what we gain: forgiveness, peace, purpose, and a relationship with the living God.

What could be worth more than that?

He gave everything for us. Are we willing to give everything for Him?

Illustration: The Worth of the Pearl

Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he sold everything he had and bought it (Matthew 13:45–46).

That’s what following Jesus is like.

The world might call it foolish to give up everything for one pearl. But when you realize the worth of that pearl—when you see the beauty of the Savior who gave His life for you—you know no price is too high.

The Call to Surrender

So here’s the question:

Are you ready to surrender?

To stop trying to hold onto control, and instead give your heart completely to the One who already paid the price for you?

He’s not asking for perfection—He’s asking for surrender.

He’s not calling you to religion—He’s calling you to relationship.

He’s not waiting for you to clean yourself up—He already washed you clean by His blood.

A Personal Reflection

When I think about the cross, I can’t help but see myself in that crowd shouting “crucify Him.” I see my sin. My failures. My pride.

And yet, I also see His mercy. I see His love stretched wide on those wooden beams. I see forgiveness flowing where I deserved judgment.

That’s why I can’t walk away unchanged.

A Savior who endured the pain, the humiliation, and the death that I deserved—He’s not someone I want to just admire. He’s someone I want to know. To follow. To live for.

The Invitation

Jesus paid it all. Every sin. Every debt. Every burden.

Now He stands at the door of your heart, inviting you to come, to surrender, to live.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

— Revelation 3:20

Will you open the door?

Will you surrender all?

Will you follow the One who loved you enough to die for you?

Because He didn’t just die—He rose again. The tomb is empty, and the invitation still stands.

Closing Challenge

So again, what does it really cost you?

It costs your pride, your plans, your control—but it gives you peace, purpose, and eternal life.

Jesus loves you so much He stepped into a plan knowing the pain and knowing the price. He could have called the angels to rescue Him, but He chose instead to stay and redeem you.

Don’t take that lightly. Don’t waste that grace.

Today, surrender it all.

Follow Him fully.

Live boldly in His love.

Because the One who paid the price for you is worth every cost you could ever pay.

Live bold. Live set free. Live surrendered.